The NFL’s biggest surprise teams through Week 4 reside at opposite ends of the standings. The Minnesota Vikings are 4-0 after losing their highly drafted rookie quarterback and substituting the well-traveled Sam Darnold in his place. GO DEEPER Assessing 4-0 teams, from Vikings’ shocking start to Chiefs’ WR setback: Sando’s Pick Six The Jacksonville Jaguars…

MILWAUKEE — As the New York Mets pinballed between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers over the past week, they’d banished any thoughts of fatigue. The adrenaline of their postseason push, the momentum of their late-season magic, could carry them deeper into October. Late Wednesday, six outs away from their first postseason series win in…

The Eastern Conference may not be the stronger of the two NBA conferences, but its intrigue level rises above the West going into the season. The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions. The New York Knicks had a loud offseason following their best season in quite some time. The Philadelphia 76ers added Paul George…

The future King of England, William, Prince of Wales did not leave quietly into the night. “I’ve lost my voice,” he said. “I can’t quite believe it — 42 years…” Aston Villa supporters had started to filter out of the stadium even if no one wanted to move. Villa Park was still drinking in Jhon Duran’s…

Damaja Jones conducts offseason workouts for the Helix High football team at 6:30 a.m., starting in January. “It’s open to the whole school,” said Jones, who has been the head coach at the San Diego area school since 2022. Many students express interest. Very few actually show up. Aubrey Laue did, starting in January 2023,…

Two NASCAR teams, including one owned by basketball icon Michael Jordan, accused NASCAR of being a monopoly in a joint antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday morning in federal court. 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, joined with Front Row Motorsports to allege NASCAR and its CEO Jim France…

As the calendar turns from September to October, the stakes ramp up in conference races for potential College Football Playoff contenders. The season’s first month brought quality nonconference matchups and an SEC classic between Georgia and Alabama. This month establishes separation among the CFP contenders and bowl-caliber squads. For this week’s CFP breakdown, let’s examine…

What’s with all the daytime playoff games? Sentimentalists longing for bygone eras of Major League Baseball love them, sure. But for fans who reside on the West Coast, the first playoff game on Tuesday is pretty early: Game 2 in the Wild Card round between the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros is scheduled for…

Week 4 is in the books — and it still feels weird to say that’s technically not the quarter mark of the season anymore. Whatever. September football is over now, so, spiritually, we’re moving into a new section of the NFL season. In this installment of Quick Outs, we’ve got a couple of star AFC…